Colorado releases a trove of marijuana sales data

No longer will backwards math be needed to determine marijuana sales in Colorado.

The Colorado Department of Revenue on Tuesday published a mother lode of previously unreleased sales data for the state's marijuana retailers.

"We know this information is highly desired by the general public, media and researchers," Mike Hartman, the Colorado Department of Revenue's executive director, said in a statement. "To that end, in our efforts to be as transparent as possible, we will not provide aggregate sales data. That, coupled with state tax revenue data already provided, will give an accurate picture of the financial footprint of this burgeoning industry."

Revenue Department officials, in releasing the monthly and annual sales data, also announced plans to release monthly marijuana sales reports showing total sales for retail and medical marijuana dispensaries. The reports will include countywide information.